Communications in North Korea

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Based on the limited information available in the early 1990s about the country's telecommunications network, telephone services--an estimated 30,000 telephones in 1985--mainly were available at government offices, factories, cooperatives, and other workplaces. By 1970 automatic switching facilities were in use in Pyongyang, Sinuiju, Hamhung, and Hyesan. A few public telephone booths were beginning to appear in Pyongyang around 1990. Ordinary citizens do not have private telephone lines. There are international connections via Moscow and Beijing, and in late 1989 international direct dialing service was introduced from Hong Kong. A satellite ground station near Pyongyang provides direct international communications using the International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) Indian Ocean satellite. A satellite communications center was installed in Pyongyang in 1986 with French technical support. An agreement to share in Japan's telecommunications satellites was reached in 1990. North Korea joined the Universal Postal Union in 1974 but has direct postal arrangements with only a select group of countries.

The Korean Central Television station is located in Pyongyang, and there also are stations in major cities, including Chongjin, Kaesong, Hamhung, Haeju, and Sinuiju. There are three channels in Pyongyang but only one channel in other cities. Imported Japanese-made color televisions have a North Korean brand name superimposed, but nineteen-inch black-and-white sets have been produced locally since 1980. One estimate places the total number of television sets in use in the early 1990s at 250,000 sets.

North Korea has two AM radio broadcasting networks, Pyongyang Broadcasting Station (Radio Pyongyang) and Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and one FM network, Pyongyang FM Broadcasting Station. All three networks have stations in major cities that offer local programming. There also is a powerful shortwave transmitter for overseas broadcasts in several languages. In the early 1990s, North Korea had an estimated 3.75 million radio sets; radio dials, however, are fixed to receive only designated frequencies, preventing reception of foreign broadcasts.

1 Telephones
- 1.1 Mobile phones
- 1.2 Telephone system
2 Broadcast stations
- 2.1 Radio
- 2.2 Television
3 Internet
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Telephones

Main lines in use: 1.1 million (2001)

[edit] Mobile phones

In November 2002, cell phones were introduced to North Korea and by November 2003, 20,000 North Koreans had bought cell phones. On May 24, 2004 cell phones were banned. North Korea supposedly still has a mobile network in Pyongyang which is open for government officials. Foreigners are not allowed to use (even to keep) mobile phones in North Korea.

[edit] Telephone system

international: Satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean Region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing

[edit] Broadcast stations

Broadcasting in North Korea is tightly controlled by the state and is used as a propaganda arm of the ruling Korean Workers' Party. See also Broadcasting in North Korea.

[edit] Radio

AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)

Radios: 3.36 million (1997)

Visitors are not allowed to bring a radio. As part of the government's information blockade policy, North Korean radios and televisions must be modified to only receive government stations. These modified radios and televisions should be registered at special state department. They are also subject to inspection at random. The removal of the official seal is punishable by law. In order to buy a TV-set or a radio, Korean citizens should get special permission from the officials at places of their residence or emloyment.

The official government station is the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), which broadcasts in Korean.

[edit] Television

As of 2003, there are four television stations:

Korean Central Television (also broadcast internationally via satellite)
Mansudae Television
Korean Educational and Cultural Network
Kaesong Television targeting South Korea. ^[1]

[edit] Internet

In 2003 a joint venture called KCC Europe between Jan Holterman Consulting in Berlin and the North Korean government brought the commercial Internet to North Korea. The connection is established through a satellite link from North Korea to Servers located in Germany. This link ended the need to dial ISPs in China.

[1].

In 2002 the first Internet cafe opened ([2], [3], [4]). It is connected via a line to China. Foreign visitors can link their computers to the Internet through international phone lines available in a few hotels in Pyongyang. In 2005 a new internet cafe opened in Pyongyang, connected not through China, but through the North Korean satellite link. Content is most likely filtered by North Korean government agencies.

KCC Europe is attempting to regulate the .kp domain, but legal challenges make this so far impossible. The biggest problem is the lack of a diplomatic representation of North Korea in the US.

Country code: KP